Apartments and city-pads are always changing and evolving with the industry and consumer trends, especially now that we are faced with rapid urbanization around much of the world. As more and more people move to the cities, property investors and landlords need to monitor the latest trends and developments to create more appealing offers and attract new tenants to their doorstep. Of course, one of the best ways to do that is to invest in smart apartment tech that will enhance the tenant’s experience and elevate the value of the property.
Fortunately, there are many ways you can become a high-tech landlord by investing in smart technologies and new processes that deliver a better experience overall, but you need to know which ones to pick in order to maximize your investment. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the five smart apartment trends that are currently dominating the real estate sector.
- 1. Emphasizing Clean Energy Production
- 2. Investing in Smarter Appliances
- 3. Serviced Apartments on the Rise
- 4. Leveraging IoT for Multifamily properties
- 5. Introducing Co-Working as an Amenity
- Upwardly Mobile Living
1. Emphasizing Clean Energy Production
The environmental revolution has created a generation of eco-conscious apartment seekers that are looking for city pads and multi-family dwellings that run on clean energy and energy-efficient appliances—more on the latter in a bit. Now, disconnecting an entire apartment from the municipal power grid and running it on clean energy alone might require a big investment, but running a part of the apartment on clean energy is more than doable. With the right solar system on the rooftop, you can get your apartment to generate enough clean energy to accommodate a big portion of your tenant’s needs, which is a great way to appeal to the modern eco-conscious demographic.
What’s more, now that solar systems are getting smarter by the day, you can choose more cost-effective options and a model of clean energy storage that will allow you and your tenants to maximize savings over the long term. However, always keep in mind that smart solar systems are an investment, so if you’re not ready for it, then consider going with energy-efficient appliances first.
2. Investing in Smarter Appliances
Smart apartments need to have as many smart features as possible if your goal is to improve financial savings, elevate the tenant’s experience, and improve the overall value of the property. Of course, one of the best ways to achieve all of this is to invest in smart home appliances with intuitive features and functions that your tenants can use with ease while conserving energy and other resources. The first thing you need to do is to check the overall energy-saving potential on the label when you’re upgrading your old appliances.
Next, try to find smart versions of energy-efficient appliances that are IoT enabled and boast the right connectivity to allow your tenants to control them with their voice through smart speakers or or via smartphone. More importantly, though, they should be able to monitor the performance and energy use of all appliances on a dedicated smartphone app so that they can make better long-term decisions regarding energy conservation.
3. Serviced Apartments on the Rise
Not all smart solutions in the real estate market have to do with smart appliances—some are just smart and innovative concepts that improve the world around us and provide solutions to new questions and challenges. One of these challenges is, of course, the problem of affordable housing, which gave rise to the now popular serviced apartments.
Nowadays, millennial and Gen Z tenants are looking for affordable studios for rent that are fully-serviced and have loads of amenities included in the price, simply because they need a living environment that helps them manage their busy lifestyle instead of putting more pressure on their schedule with meaningless chores.
So for example, a serviced apartment would have regular cleaning included in the monthly rental cost, along with the weekly changing of sheets and towels, regular plant watering, and the like. These apartments also have communal areas like kitchens and co-working spaces to further appeal to the younger community-focused demographics.
4. Leveraging IoT for Multifamily properties
The internet of things is the way of the future, and nowadays it’s finding its way into smart homes around the world. There are many ways landlords and tenants can leverage IoT to make their lives easier, from collecting valuable information to elevating security, to creating a more connected living environment, especially for multi-family properties. IoT devices and systems can control and manage various aspects of a shared living space and the entire building for that matter, which leads to better overall efficiency and tenant satisfaction.
5. Introducing Co-Working as an Amenity
Last but not least, one of the new prevailing millennials real estate trends is the introduction of the co-working space. Now, offices in apartment buildings are nothing new, but true co-working spaces that focus on that community aspect are definitely a novelty in today’s gig economy.
Nowadays, tenants want to work in a beautifully-design space with all of the tech features they could wish for, but they don’t necessarily want to travel to work to get it. That’s why investing in an on-location co-working space is a great way to boost cohesion between tenants and create a thriving shared living space.
Upwardly Mobile Living
Apartments are constantly evolving in design and tech, and if you want to attract the new generation of tenants, you have to invest in some smart solutions. Use these tips to make your apartments more appealing and snag the best tenants for yourself.
